House elections for the 98th U.S. Congress
The 1982 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives held on November 2, 1982, to elect members to serve in the 98th United States Congress . They occurred in the middle of President Ronald Reagan 's first term, whose popularity was sinking due to economic conditions under the 1982 recession . The President's Republican Party lost seats in the House, which could be viewed as a response to the President's approval at the time. Unlike most midterm election cycles, the number of seats lost—26 seats to the Democratic Party —was a comparatively large swap. It included most of the seats that had been gained the previous election, cementing the Democratic majority.[ 1] Coincidentally, the number of seats the Democrats picked up (26), was the exact amount the Republicans would have needed to win the House majority. It was the first election held after the 1980 United States redistricting cycle .
In the previous election of 1980 Republicans gained many seats as the result of President Ronald Reagan 's coattails. In 1982, 14 freshman representatives who ran for re-election lost their seats.
To date, this election marks the last time the Democrats picked up a House seat in West Virginia. It was also the last time the party holding the White House won independent voters in a congressional midterm election until 2022 .[ 2]
Overall results
393 incumbent members sought reelection, but 10 were defeated in primaries and 29 defeated in the general election for a total of 354 incumbents winning.
↓
269
1
165
Democratic
C
Republican
Parties
Seats
Popular vote
1980
1982
+/-
Strength
Vote
%
Change
Democratic Party
243
269
26
61.8%
35,284,473
55.2%
4.7%
Republican Party
191
165
26
38.0%
27,625,593
43.4%
4.4%
Libertarian Party
0
0
0.0%
462,767
0.7%
Conservative Party
1
1
0.2%
140,404
0.2%
0.1%
Independent
0
0
0.0%
120,476
0.2%
0.1%
Right to Life Party
0
0
0.0%
45,819
0.1%
Milton Street Party
0
0
0.0%
35,205
0.1%
0.1%
Peace and Freedom Party
0
0
0.0%
34,422
0.1%
Others
0
0
0.0%
131,685
0.2%
Total
435
435
0
100.0%
63,880,844
100.0%
Source: Election Statistics – Office of the Clerk
Popular vote
Democratic
55.23%
Republican
43.37%
Libertarian
0.72%
Conservative
0.22%
Others
0.46%
House seats
Democratic
61.84%
Republican
37.93%
Conservative
0.23%
House seats by party holding plurality in state 80+% Democratic
80+% Republican
60+ to 80% Democratic
60+ to 80% Republican
Up to 60% Democratic
Up to 60% Republican
Change in seats 6+ Democratic gain
6+ Republican gain
3–5 Democratic gain
3–5 Republican gain
1–2 Democratic gain
1–2 Republican gain
no net change
Retiring incumbents
39 representatives retired. 31 of those seats were held by the same party; 8 seats changed parties.
Democrats
18 Democrats retired. 11 of those seats were held by Democrats, 4 were won by Republicans, and 3 seats were eliminated in redistricting.
Democratic held
California 5 : John L. Burton , was succeeded by Barbara Boxer (with district being renumbered as California 6).
Georgia 1 : Ronald 'Bo' Ginn , to run for Governor of Georgia , was succeeded by Lindsay Thomas .
Michigan 17 : William M. Brodhead , was succeeded by Sander Levin .
Missouri 5 : Richard Bolling , was succeeded by Alan Wheat .
New York 12 : Shirley Chisholm , was succeeded by Major Owens .
North Carolina 2 : Lawrence H. Fountain , was succeeded by Tim Valentine .
South Carolina 5 : Kenneth Lamar Holland , was succeeded by John Spratt .
Texas 5 : Jim Mattox , to run for Attorney General of Texas , was succeeded by John Wiley Bryant .
Texas 16 : Richard C. White , was succeeded by Ronald D. Coleman .
West Virginia 1 : Bob Mollohan , was succeeded by Alan Mollohan .
Wisconsin 5 : Henry Reuss , was succeeded by Jim Moody .
Republican gain
Connecticut 6 : Toby Moffett , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Nancy Johnson .
Mississippi 2 : David R. Bowen , was succeeded by Webb Franklin .
Nevada at-large : James David Santini , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Barbara Vucanovich (with district being renumbered as Nevada 2).
Pennsylvania 17 : Allen E. Ertel , to run for Governor of Pennsylvania , was succeeded by George Gekas .
Seat eliminated in redistricting
Indiana 2 : Floyd Fithian who ran for U.S. senator .
Michigan 18 : James J. Blanchard who ran for Governor of Michigan .
New York 22 : Jonathan Brewster Bingham .
Republicans
21 Republicans retired. 11 of those seats were held by Republicans, 4 were won by Democrats, and 6 seats were eliminated in redistricting.
Republican held
Arizona 1 : John Jacob Rhodes , was succeeded by John McCain .
California 12 : Pete McCloskey , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Ed Zschau .
California 43 : Clair Burgener , was succeeded by Ron Packard .
Florida 10 : Louis A. Bafalis , to run for Governor of Florida , was succeeded by Tom Lewis (with district being renumbered as Florida 12).
Maine 1 : David F. Emery , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by John R. McKernan Jr.
New York 31 : Donald J. Mitchell , was succeeded by Sherwood Boehlert (with district being renumbered as New York 25).
Ohio 7 : Bud Brown , to run for Governor of Ohio , was succeeded by Mike DeWine .
Pennsylvania 24 : Marc L. Marks , was succeeded by Tom Ridge (with district being renumbered as Pennsylvania 21).
Tennessee 6 : Robin Beard , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Don Sundquist (with district being renumbered as Tennessee 7).
Texas 3 : James M. Collins , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Steve Bartlett .
Virginia 1 : Paul S. Trible Jr. , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Herbert H. Bateman .
Democratic gain
California 27 : Bob Dornan , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Mel Levine .
Kansas 2 : James Edmund Jeffries , was succeeded by Jim Slattery .
West Virginia 2 : Cleve Benedict , to run for U.S. senator , was succeeded by Harley O. Staggers Jr.
Virginia 6 : M. Caldwell Butler , was succeeded by Jim Olin .
Seat eliminated in redistricting
California 20 : Barry Goldwater Jr. , who ran for U.S. senator .
Illinois 13 : Robert McClory .
New Jersey 5 : Millicent Fenwick , who ran for U.S. senator .
New York 3 : Gregory W. Carman .
Ohio 11 : J. William Stanton .
Ohio 17 : Jean Spencer Ashbrook .
Defeated incumbents
As a result of redistricting, many incumbents were forced to compete against each other in the same district, which resulted in a larger number of incumbents being defeated in primaries.
In primary elections
10 representatives lost renomination: 6 lost in redistricting battles pitting incumbents against each other, and 4 lost nomination to non-incumbent challengers.
Democrats
6 Democrats lost renomination: 3 in redistricting races and 3 to a non-incumbent challenger. All the seats were held by Democrats.
Georgia 8 : Billy Lee Evans lost to challenger J. Roy Rowland .
Illinois 5 : John G. Fary lost to challenger Bill Lipinski .
Indiana 11 : David W. Evans lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Andrew Jacobs Jr.
Ohio 19 : Ronald M. Mottl lost to challenger Ed Feighan .
Pennsylvania 1 : Joseph F. Smith lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Thomas M. Foglietta .
Pennsylvania 12 : Donald A. Bailey lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent John Murtha .
Republicans
4 Republicans lost renomination: 3 in redistricting races and 1 to a non-incumbent challenger.
Seat held by a Republican
These primary winners later won the general election.
California 33 : Wayne R. Grisham lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent David Dreier .
Illinois 4 : Ed Derwinski lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent George M. O'Brien .
New York 27 : Gary A. Lee lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent George C. Wortley .
Seat lost to a Democrat
Illinois 17 : Tom Railsback lost to challenger Kenneth G. McMillan , who later lost the general election to Lane Evans .
In the general election
Democrats
Three incumbent Democrats lost re-election; two lost to Republican incumbents and one to a non-incumbent challenger.
Seat lost to a Republican incumbent
New York 14 : Leo C. Zeferetti lost a redistricting race to Guy V. Molinari .
New York 22 : Peter A. Peyser lost a redistricting race to Benjamin A. Gilman .
Seat lost to a Republican challenger
Ohio 12 : Bob Shamansky lost to John Kasich .
Republicans
Twenty-six incumbent Republicans lost re-election; five loss to Democratic incumbents while twenty-one loss to non-incumbent challengers, ten of whom were first elected in 1980.
Seat lost to a Democratic incumbent
California 30 : John H. Rousselot lost a redistricting race to Matthew G. Martinez .
Massachusetts 4 : Margaret Heckler lost a redistricting race to Barney Frank .
Missouri 4 : Wendell Bailey lost a redistricting race to Ike Skelton .
New York 3 : John LeBoutillier lost a redistricting race to Robert J. Mrazek .
South Dakota at-large : Clint Roberts lost a redistricting race to Tom Daschle .
Seat lost to a Democratic challenger
Alabama 6 : Albert L. Smith Jr. lost to Ben Erdreich .
California 1 : Donald H. Clausen lost to Douglas H. Bosco .
Connecticut 3 : Lawrence J. DeNardis lost to Bruce A. Morrison .
Delaware at-large : Tom Evans lost to Thomas R. Carper .
Illinois 20 : Paul Findley lost to Dick Durbin .
Indiana 8 : H. Joel Deckard lost to Frank McCloskey .
Michigan 6 : James Whitney Dunn lost to Milton Robert Carr .
Minnesota 1 : Tom Hagedorn lost to Tim Penny .
Minnesota 6 : Arlen Erdahl lost to Gerry Sikorski .
New Jersey 9 : Harold C. Hollenbeck lost to Robert Torricelli .
North Carolina 6 : Walter E. Johnston, III lost to Charles Robin Britt .
North Carolina 11 : Bill Hendon lost to James M. Clarke .
Ohio 9 : Ed Weber lost to Marcy Kaptur .
Pennsylvania 3 : Charles F. Dougherty lost to Robert A. Borski, Jr.
Pennsylvania 4 : Eugene Atkinson lost to Joseph P. Kolter .
Pennsylvania 8 : James K. Coyne, III lost to Peter H. Kostmayer .
Pennsylvania 11 : James L. Nelligan lost to Frank Harrison .
South Carolina 6 : John Light Napier lost to Robin Tallon .
Virginia 4 : Robert Daniel lost to Norman Sisisky .
Virginia 9 : William C. Wampler lost to Rick Boucher .
West Virginia 3 : Mick Staton lost to Bob Wise .
Special elections
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arizona received an additional seat at reapportionment and added a 5th district in the southeast of the state.[ 4]
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
Arizona 1
John Jacob Rhodes
Republican
1952
Incumbent retired. Republican hold.
▌ Y John McCain (Republican) 65.9%
▌ Bill Hegarty (Democratic) 30.5%
▌ Richard K. Dodge (Libertarian) 3.6%
Arizona 2
Mo Udall
Democratic
1961 (special)
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Mo Udall (Democratic) 70.9%
▌ Roy B. Laos (Republican) 27.4%
▌ Jessica Sampson (Socialist Labor) 1.7%
Arizona 3
Bob Stump
Democratic
1976
Incumbent re-elected as a Republican.Republican gain.
▌ Y Bob Stump (Republican) 63.3%
▌ Pat Bosch (Democratic) 36.7%
Arizona 4
Eldon Rudd
Republican
1976
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Eldon Rudd (Republican) 65.7%
▌ Wayne O. Earley (Democratic) 30.4%
▌ Dick Stauffer (Libertarian) 3.9%
Arizona 5
None (district created)
New seat.Democratic gain.
▌ Y Jim McNulty (Democratic) 49.7%
▌ Jim Kolbe (Republican) 48.3%
▌ Richard D. Auster (Libertarian) 2.0%
Arkansas
California
The delegation increased from 43 to 45 seats. To create the two-seat net gain, five seats with no incumbent were added.
Colorado
Colorado added a sixth seat in reapportionment, adding the new district near Denver.[ 4]
Connecticut
Delaware
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
Delaware at-large
Tom Evans
Republican
1976
Incumbent lost re-election.Democratic gain.
▌ Mary D. Gies (American ) 0.6%
▌ Richard A. Cohen (Libertarian) 0.4%
▌ David A. Nuttall (Citizens) 0.3%
Florida
Florida added 4 new districts, going from 15 to 19 seats, adding a new district near Miami and 3 more in central and southwestern Florida.[ 4]
Georgia
Hawaii
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
Hawaii 1
Cecil Heftel
Democratic
1976
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Cecil Heftel (Democratic) 89.9%
▌ Rockne H. Johnson (Libertarian) 10.1%
Hawaii 2
Daniel Akaka
Democratic
1976
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Daniel Akaka (Democratic) 89.2%
▌ Gregory B. Mills (Independent) 6.1%
▌ Amelia Lew Fritts (Libertarian) 4.6%
Idaho
Illinois
Illinois lost two seats at reapportionment, removing two districts with Republican incumbents, and at the same time two other Republican incumbents lost re-election in altered districts.
Indiana
Indiana lost one seat at reapportionment; Republicans in the legislature deleted two Democratic districts and added a new Republican district, although this strategy was offset by the unexpected defeat of incumbent H. Joel Deckard.
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
All eight incumbents were re-elected by receiving more than 50% of the vote in the September 11 non-partisan blanket primaries.
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Massachusetts lost one seat at reapportionment, combining the districts of Barney Frank and Margaret Heckler.[ 4]
Michigan
Michigan lost one seat at reapportionment.
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Missouri lost one seat at reapportionment.
Montana
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
Montana 1
Pat Williams
Democratic
1978
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Pat Williams (Democratic) 59.7%
▌ Bob Davies (Republican) 37.2%
▌ Don Doig (Libertarian) 3.1%
Montana 2
Ron Marlenee
Republican
1976
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Ron Marlenee (Republican) 53.7%
▌ Howard F. Lyman (Democratic) 44.2%
▌ Westley F. Deitchler (Libertarian) 2.1%
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Jersey lost one seat at reapportionment.
New Mexico
New York
New York lost five seats at reapportionment.
North Carolina
North Dakota
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
North Dakota at-large
Byron Dorgan
Democratic-NPL
1980
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Byron Dorgan (Democratic-NPL) 71.6%
▌ Kent Jones (Republican) 27.7%
▌ Don J. Klingensmith (Prohibition) 0.7%
Ohio
Ohio lost two seats at reapportionment.
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lost two seats at reapportionment.
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
District
Incumbent
This race
Member
Party
First elected
Results
Candidates
Vermont at-large
Jim Jeffords
Republican
1974
Incumbent re-elected.
▌ Y Jim Jeffords (Republican) 69.3%
▌ Mark A. Kaplan (Democratic) 23.2%
▌ Robin Lloyd (Citizens) 3.9%
▌ Peter Diamondstone (Liberty Union) 1.7%
▌ Morris Earle (Independent) 1.1%
▌ George E. Trask (Libertarian) 0.9%
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Non-voting delegates
See also
Notes
^ a b The lone Conservative, William Carney of New York caucused with Republicans.
^ Swigert died from bone cancer on December 27, 1982, before taking office.
References
Works cited
Abramson, Paul; Aldrich, John; Rohde, David (1995). Change and Continuity in the 1992 Elections . CQ Press . ISBN 0871878399 .
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